Upon returning home, Sang Zhi immediately went to her room, grabbed a change of clothes, and headed to the bathroom for a shower. Before she could undress, she suddenly remembered the skirt she had stained earlier and quickly ran back out.
Sang Zhi circled through the living room and entryway.
No sign of the bag.
She glanced toward Sang Yan's door—it was open. There was movement in the kitchen, accompanied by the sound of him rummaging around, clattering and clanking.
Hadn't they just finished eating?
Sang Zhi muttered under her breath, "Such a bottomless pit," before returning to her room. There, she spotted the bag placed beside her desk.
Carrying the bag back to the bathroom, she tossed the dirty clothes into a basin.
This was Sang Zhi's first time doing laundry herself. She squeezed in some detergent and scrubbed at the stained areas with her hands, her movements clumsy and slow, but she managed to wash everything clean.
By the time Sang Zhi stepped out of the bathroom, nearly an hour had passed.
Holding the basin, she hurried to the balcony to hang the clothes. Just as she was about to return to her room, she heard Sang Yan's voice.
He seemed to be on a phone call, his tone slightly impatient: "It's done."
"Why should I care? I didn't notice her feeling unwell," Sang Yan said. "Add red dates and angelica? No, Mom, why didn't you say so earlier? How was I supposed to know?"
"Aren't you coming back tomorrow? You can handle it yourselves then. I'm exhausted—taking care of your daughter for two days is already going above and beyond. Fine, let's just go with this."
A few seconds later, Sang Yan seemed to hang up. Soon, he walked out carrying a bowl. Seeing Sang Zhi, he showed no trace of guilt and said coldly, "Come over and drink this yourself."
Sang Zhi shuffled over slowly: "Why do you dislike me so much?"
"If I really disliked you," Sang Yan clicked his tongue, enunciating each word, "you'd probably be beaten to death by now."
"..."
After saying this, Sang Yan couldn't be bothered with her any longer and returned to his room.
Sang Zhi walked to the dining table, carefully picked up the bowl, and went back to her room. Sitting at her desk, she took a small sip from the bowl.
It was still a bit hot.
She set it aside for the moment. Turning around, she noticed the Doraemon plush she had left on her bed.
Sang Zhi walked over, picked up the plush, and placed it at the foot of her bed, next to the other one Duan Jiaxu had given her. Lying on her stomach, she swung her legs and poked the plush's face with her fingertip.
Soon, she rolled over onto her back, staring blankly at the plain white ceiling.
Her mind drifted.
Today had been a bit embarrassing.
Yet, inexplicably, it also felt a little happy.
Aside from the soreness and a heavy sensation in her abdomen, this sudden first period hadn't caused Sang Zhi much discomfort. But the next morning, she was woken by pain—her abdomen felt as if it were being pricked by needles.
Li Ping and Sang Rong had already returned and prepared a bowl of millet porridge for Sang Zhi.
"Still feeling unwell?" Li Ping asked, sitting beside her after she finished washing up. "It's good that it's started. I heard from your aunt that Xiao Bing grew to 1.7 meters right after she got her period."
Sang Zhi took small sips of the porridge. Hearing this, she thought for a moment: "My cousin?"
"Yes."
Sang Zhi asked skeptically, "Wasn't she already over 1.6 meters before?"
Li Ping replied, "Yes. So, by that logic, you might suddenly shoot up to 1.6 meters too.""Five foot two..." Sang Zhi swallowed her congee and shook her head. "I want to be a bit taller, preferably up to five foot seven."
"Then our Zhizhi needs to eat well," Li Ping said gently. "You'll grow taller gradually."
After breakfast, Sang Zhi felt so unwell that she lay in bed all day, not wanting to do anything. But thinking about growing taller—the first sign of growing up, after which she would no longer seem like a child—made the pain somewhat more bearable.
The following Wednesday was Fu Zhengchu's birthday.
Sang Zhi had originally decided not to go, since she wasn't very familiar with that group of people, and Li Ping had also signed her up for a summer painting class. But she eventually gave in due to Yin Zhenru's relentless phone calls.
Yin Zhenru lived nearby and came early to pick up Sang Zhi so they could go together. Since the KTV was in another district, the two girls went to a nearby bus stop to wait for the bus.
It was August, and the weather was still hot. The ground was scorching, giving off a dusty smell. The two girls, wearing shorts and T-shirts, stood under the bus stop shelter holding umbrellas.
After waiting for a while, Sang Zhi grew irritable from the heat. "Isn't it at one in the afternoon? Why did we come out so early?"
"I forgot to buy a gift..." Yin Zhenru stuck out her tongue apologetically. "Since we're going to Shang'an anyway, we can shop around there, buy the gift, and then meet up with Fu Zhengchu and the others."
"It's only ten now."
"The bus ride takes an hour," Yin Zhenru said, checking her watch. "We'll get there around eleven, buy the gift, and then have lunch. The timing works out perfectly, doesn't it?"
Sang Zhi grumbled, "Can I just go straight to lunch?"
"No! How can I shop alone?" Yin Zhenru retorted. "Besides, didn't you say you and Fu Zhengchu were in the same class all six years of elementary school? Why does it seem like you two don't get along at all?"
"We really don't."
"..." Yin Zhenru was incredulous. "Really? I thought Fu Zhengchu... you know..."
Sang Zhi frowned. "What? I don't know."
Yin Zhenru leaned close to her ear and whispered, "He has a crush on you."
"..."
Just then, the bus arrived.
Before Sang Zhi could respond, Yin Zhenru dragged her onto the bus.
The bus was nearly empty, with only a few passengers and plenty of vacant seats. They found seats in the back row.
Sang Zhi was still processing Yin Zhenru's words, her expression subtle. "Who told you that?"
"It's obvious," Yin Zhenru said. "He's always asking me to invite you out. Class Six is on the third floor, and our class is on the second, but he's always hanging around outside our classroom."
Sang Zhi pressed, "Then why don't you say he has a crush on you?"
"..."
"Otherwise, why wouldn't he come to me directly instead of going through you?" Sang Zhi said matter-of-factly. "You two didn't know each other before, right?"
"...You have a point," Yin Zhenru pouted. "But if it weren't about you, he wouldn't talk to me at all."
Silence fell.
Sang Zhi stared at her, then suddenly pointed to her own right cheek.
Yin Zhenru was baffled. "What? There's nothing on your face."
Sang Zhi pointed again.
Yin Zhenru immediately leaned back, her face full of refusal. "You don't expect me to kiss you, do you?!"
"What are you talking about?" Sang Zhi gave her a speechless look. "I just wanted to tell you that I used to fight with Fu Zhengchu all the time.""Ah? When was that?"
Sang Zhi thought for a moment: "It happened in second grade."
"Second grade? How old were you then?"
"I'm one year older than him." Sang Zhi said, "When we were young, some boys would indeed hit girls, but not like him. He didn't treat other girls this way, only me."
"What?"
"He treated me like a boy when hitting me."
"..."
"Once." As if to prove how outrageous her words were, Sang Zhi pointed to her right cheek and enunciated clearly, "He punched me right here with his fist."
She deliberately emphasized the word "fist."
Yin Zhenru: "Holy crap, was it serious?"
"Huh? I'm not sure if it counts as serious." Sang Zhi thought for a moment, then began to emphasize, "It's not that I couldn't beat him. Mainly because I was caught off guard and fell to the ground."
"..."
"Then I chipped a tooth." After a pause, Sang Zhi continued, "I got angry at the time and pushed him back."
"...And then?"
"He also fell to the ground and broke a bone."
"..."
Upon hearing this, Yin Zhenru indeed abandoned her idea. Later, when buying gifts, she didn't persuade Sang Zhi to pick one for Fu Zhengchu either.
It was as if she considered them mortal enemies, particularly avoiding the topic.
Sang Zhi was happy to be free from the trouble, following behind her and casually looking at various trinkets.
Yin Zhenru was quite casual in choosing gifts, buying a cute nightlight as soon as she saw one. Since there was still plenty of time, the two of them entered a dessert shop on the same floor.
It was a chain dessert shop. The store was very small, decorated in a Chinese style with dark-colored wooden tables and chairs. The lighting was warm and yellowish, creating a cozy atmosphere.
The air conditioning was set very low, isolating them from the heat outside.
There were no other customers in the shop, only one staff member.
Hearing the door chime, the staff member lifted his eyes, his tone sounding somewhat drowsy as he said lazily, "Welcome."
The voice was extremely familiar.
Sang Zhi's breath hitched, and she instinctively looked up.
The man was wearing a brown apron, sitting behind the cash register, his eyes slightly lowered. The color of his pupils appeared even lighter under the lighting. His gaze swept over and stopped on Sang Zhi's face.
Then, the corner of his eye lifted almost imperceptibly.
After two seconds of silence.
Sang Zhi took the initiative to call out: "Brother."
Duan Jiaxu glanced at the girl beside Sang Zhi and nodded: "Here to hang out?"
Sang Zhi: "Yeah."
Yin Zhenru's eyes shifted between the two of them but she didn't speak.
Sang Zhi picked up the menu placed on the counter and asked hesitantly: "Brother, are you working here?"
"Yeah." Duan Jiaxu's expression was indifferent. "Go find a seat. Come order when you've decided what you want to eat. I'll bring it over to you in a bit."
Sang Zhi said "Oh" and sat with Yin Zhenru at the innermost table.
Flipping through the menu, Yin Zhenru secretly glanced in Duan Jiaxu's direction and asked curiously: "Who is that? I remember your brother doesn't look like that."
"He's my brother's friend."
"He's so handsome." Yin Zhenru covered her chest. "I remember your brother is really handsome too. Sang Zhi, you're so lucky."
Sang Zhi: "Don't talk nonsense."
Yin Zhenru: "Huh?"
Sang Zhi: "How is my brother handsome?"
"..."
Soon, the two of them picked their desserts. Sang Zhi carried the menu and walked up to Duan Jiaxu: "Brother, I want a coconut sago dessert and a mango double-layer milk pudding."Duan Jiaxu: "Mm."
Sang Zhi calculated the price, then took out a twenty and a ten from her pocket, fumbling out three coins as well. She felt around again but found nothing more.
She placed all the money on the checkout counter. Turning around, she intended to return to her seat to get her bag and take out another one-yuan coin to make up the difference.
After taking just two steps, Duan Jiaxu called out from behind her: "Kid."
Sang Zhi turned back: "Huh?"
Duan Jiaxu tapped the money on the table with his knuckles, elbows propped on the counter edge as he leaned forward slightly. He chuckled softly and asked: "Trying to take advantage of your gege's bad math?"
Sang Zhi caught his meaning, pursed her lips, and silently returned to her seat. She took another coin from her bag, walked back to the counter, and placed the one-yuan coin in front of him.
Duan Jiaxu glanced down: "Still one yuan short."
"..."
Sang Zhi felt he was trying to scam her and became serious: "One costs eighteen yuan, the other sixteen yuan, that's thirty-four total. How is there still one yuan missing?"
"Didn't you say gege is handsome?"
"..."
When had she said that? That was Yin Zhenru who said it.
Besides, what did that have to do with anything?
"You've been sneaking glances at gege so many times—" his tone trailed off playfully, sounding completely unserious, "if I let you look for free, wouldn't gege be at a disadvantage?"
OpenNovel